There For You
by CraftyPup
Summary: This was the second time... the second time Gabriella left him. He just didn't know what to do anymore. Luckily, he has a friend who is more than happy to tell him how it is, and hopefully, set him on the right path and cheer him up a bit.


**__****A/N - I do not own Troy, High School Musical, or any of it's elements. I only own that which I have created.**

**Warnings ; Contains angst, a transguy, original characters, some semi-gay cuddling, foreshadowing, and stuff that probably doesn't make sense.**

**Don't like it, don't read it. You've been warned.**

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><p><em><strong>There For You<strong>_

It was late, though I couldn't tell you an exact time. We'd been sitting there for at least an hour, just hanging out, our feet resting in the cool water of the pool. Neither of us said a word as we stared up at the sky, watching the stars. It was quiet, peaceful, relaxing. Something had to be said though. We were out here for a reason.

"So," I started off, grabbing his attention. He glanced over at me, waiting. "She left you again, huh?" Troy visibly flinched, but nodded, a frown appearing on his face as he sighed. "To be perfectly honest, I really just can't see why you keep after her like this." It probably wasn't my place to tell him anything like that, but hey, a strong opinion is better than bad advice.

"What do you mean?" Well, that opened up a can of beans that he probably won't be able to swallow. Simple question. Not so simple answer.

So this time, I sighed, pulling my legs out of the water and repositioning myself so that I was sitting indian style. "This is just my opinion, okay, so don't bite my head off if you don't like what I have to say about this..." I ran a hand through my hair, hesitating. "Well... considering everything that's happened... it just seems like she doesn't care about you half as much as you care about her..

She's left you three times since you got together. Three! And it was never for a good reason. She never tried to talk things out or try to make it better. When the going got tough, she got going, and you weren't given the chance to even explain.

You would do practically anything she asked and follow her wherever she would go. I'm sorry to say, and this isn't to be mean, but you were being treated more like a dog than a boyfriend. She has you wrapped around her finger and you don't even realize it..."

I hated having to do that, to be so rude, so honest, but it was just how everything looked to me, and probably to others too, who were just to nice to say anything about it. Troy... he was a smart guy. If he would just think, and I mean really think about everything I said, about everything going on, he would realize the truth, and hopefully, just be able to come to terms with it all.

Gabby was a nice girl, I'd give her that, but all she was doing was using Troy, taking from him what she wanted and leading him on to where he'd never want to leave. It was probably a huge self-esteem booster for her, dating the big star of the school.

It was a horrible, disgusting situation, and I hated having to see people go through it, see my friends live through it. I had lived through it, once before... They showed me love, or what I thought was love, and in the end, they tossed me aside as soon as they found someone new to make them feel better. I won't be going into details, as this isn't the time nor place, but it was emotional abuse no matter how you looked at it, and Troy was, though not on a severe a level as I, being put through the same thing.

And I couldn't allow it to happen.

"What..." He paused, waiting, thinking, as his gaze drifted upwards once more, towards the moon hanging above us, "What do you think I should do?"

Tell her to go fuck herself and never have anything to do with her again. "Just... just stop." Tilting his head, he gave me a slightly confused, albeit curious look. "Don't wait for her.. don't look for her... don't... don't hope for her." Pretend she doesn't exist. Ignore her. "If she really wants you, wants to be with you, she'll come to you on her own. She'll admit to herself that what is she did was wrong, and she will look for you." You can't let her win. "Even... if she comes back to the resort, don't rush back to her. Don't let her have that satisfaction." Don't be her **dog**. "Maybe you two aren't meant to be, maybe you are. I don't know that." But I can hope for the best. "I just want you to... not be making a mistake. I want you to be happy, and if having to leave her behind does that... well..." Better to be alone and happy than with someone and absolutely miserable.

He didn't respond at first, didn't say anything. Not for a while. What could he say though? I had pretty much just told him his relationship with the one girl he 'loved' was complete shit. Oooh, here comes the guilt.

"I.. I guess so..."

Little less guilt, as he seemed to kind of agree with me... but now he just looked so... lost. I couldn't leave him like that, I couldn't let him to his room, to sleep, with those thoughts in his head, that look in his eyes.

"Hey. Troy?" Not saying a word, he looked over at me, eyes questioning. A grin made it's way onto my face, but before he could ask what was going on, I placed my right hand in the center of his back and shoved, him -as gently as possible, haha- into the pool. It took a few moments for him to pop up, spluttering water and coughing, but I just smiled at him. Clothes soaked, hair sticking to his face, he looked up at me, appalled, before glaring, playfully of course.

Me though? I just whistled innocently, looking back to the sky as though I had no idea what had happened. "Oh no you don't!" Knowing what was coming, I jumped up and back, just barely missing the grab he'd aimed at my leg. There was no way he was going to pull me in as well. Ha. So, being the smug person I am, crossed my arms over my chest and smirked down at him. "Think you're all that then, do you?"

I shrugged, my smirk growing, "You can't beat me, Bolton. I am far too awesome for that."

"Mmhmm. Sure." I watched him carefully, knowing he was planning something. He smiled, floating back some. "Whatever you say."

It was then that he gave a hard push at the surface of the water, sending a wave up and at me. I raised my arms to block the water from getting to my face, but it was something I immediately regretted. The water was a distraction, I noticed, as I glanced back down at the pool, seeing no sign of Troy. "Uh oh..." A stupid move on my part, I knelt down to examine the water, to see if maybe he had gone under. "Oh shi-!" A curse almost made it out of my mouth, though, was cut off as I swallowed a mouthful of chlorinated water.

Yes, he **had** shoved me, face first, into the cold, chlorinated pool, and I came up far faster than he did, coughing violently in an attempt to clear the disgusting liquid from my lungs. My hands were curled slightly, practically clawing into the grounding on the edge of the pool to keep me up. "Dude, that was so not cool!" My nose, eyes, ears, and even throat burned horribly and I took a long, deep breath, before shooting a glare at him.

"Hey, I was only returning the favor." As he spoke, he slid back into the water, standing next to me, "Why are you so insistent on trying to help me anyway? I mean..." Guilt flooded his eyes as he went on, "I was as much of a heartless jerk to you as I was to everyone else... If not more so because you never let up.." While that may be true, and despite my overall demeanor, I am not a complete ass.

So with a shrug and a smile, I sighed, letting go of the pool wall and letting my back rest on it, "You don't turn your back on a friend Troy, no matter what they do..." It was true. If you couldn't handle them at their worst, what kind of friend are you? "Being friends means being able to handle each other at your best and your worst. You're a good guy, and those are very few in number these days." My smile turned into a grin as I looked to him, "Besides, I want you to be happy, and I mean really, truly happy, and if you let some girl lead you around all your life, that isn't going to happen."

It went quiet again, just for a few moments, before he smile back at me, letting out a small, content laugh. A noise of surprise escaped me as he pulled me into a hug, but I just laughed and returned it. "Thanks a lot, Kade.. I really appreciate everything." I just nodded, not having anything to say in response that wouldn't ruin it.

Though, you know, when an awkward silence began to build from the extended hugging time, I had to do something. So, I backed away from him, a sly grin slowly making it's way onto my face. "What are you planni-" I didn't give him the chance to finish his sentence before I kicked off of the bottom of the pool, tackling him with all my might.

The force, along with my added weight, allowed the both of us to touch the bottom, and being the idiots we were, we started laughing. This of course is never a good idea, as we very quickly realized, and swam as -well, I jumped back up- fast as we could to the surface, taking in huge gulps of air as we continued laughing.

"I think it's about time we headed in for the night. The last thing we need is to get caught."

"Again."

"Yes, again." Three strikes and you're out, they would say, and we already had two, him for things with Gabby and me, well, I'm an asshole. That should explain it well enough.

Troy went first, making his way to the edge and using his hands to push himself up and out. I frowned as he did this, a slight pang of jealousy going through me as I wasn't able to do that myself. Well, I was still going to try. So, hands on the edge, I pushed up with all my might, using my feet to climb the wall. I'd just barely made it up before my hands slipped, as the siding was wet, and I was just about sent right back into the water.

I wasn't though, thanks to Troy grabbing me just as I slipped. "T-thanks.." With a smile, he helped me the rest of the way out, and I sat on the ground, scooting a few feet away from the pool before standing up; my way of making sure I didn't land back in the water. "We can go to my room to dry off and whatnot... since you know, it's easier to get to from here."

"Sounds good to me."

It was the truth, you know. My room was easier to sneak into than most of the other ones at the resort, if for no other reason than it was at the end of the hall, right next to a window that, just to my luck, didn't have a lock. That meant that we wouldn't have to worry about running into Folton or Sharpay and we wouldn't have to freeze to death on the way there!

With the good comes the bad though, and while my room was convenient, it was small. Like, one bed, one nightstand, and a door to the bathroom small. It wasn't bad, don't get me wrong – I found it cozy, it was just sort of inconvenient for if I had guests, though, considering, we probably weren't supposed to **have** guests.

Oops.

"Er... you can just borrow something of mine for now. I should have something that will fit you..." Even if it were just a pair of basketball shorts and an old tee-shirt, it would do. After all, anything is better tha n being cold and wet.

So, I pulled my bag out from under the bed, yea under the bed -as it is the best way to ensure that nothing gets stolen- and plucked out the first shirt and pair of shorts in the pile. I gave them a quick look over to make sure they were suitable, then tossed them to Troy. "Those should work. Just tell me if there is something wrong with them." With a nod and a smile, he turned and went into the bathroom to change.

As I heard the lock click into place, I began to strip down. Hey, its cold and I wasn't about to wait for him to finish. So, after I managed to peel off my clothes, I tossed them into the small clothes hamper in the corner of the room. There are no words to describe how good it felt to be naked, just standing in the warm air, especially after having just about froze. Sadly though, I wasn't going to be able to stay that way. It would be far to awkward on both our parts.

So, letting out a small huff of disapproval, I grabbed a towel off the floor, it having been left from the shower I'd taken that morning, and made an attempt to dry myself off. It was working, for the most part. My hair would be wet and look like crap until the next morning, but it would just have to be something I dealt with until then.

I tossed the towel aside and it was as I grabbed for a pair of shorts that the bathroom door clicked, then opened. I froze. "Hey Kade, these shorts have a- Woah, crap! Sorry!" Oooh, just my luck to have given him the one freaking pair of shorts with a hole, then overlook it. Damnit to hell and back. Now, considering I had frozen at hearing the click, my brain had yet to register what had happened.

Well, thankfully, my body did register and react, as I managed a full body flush of complete and utter embarrassment. Why? Well, he was **staring** at me. Eyes shooting up and down my form. I could understand why -I mean, he's probably never really seen a transguys body before-, but, despite that, it was still just...

"Awkward." Confused, his eyes drifted to my face, and he just blinked at me, "This is kind of really freaking **awkward!**" Upon realizing what I meant, his face turned as bright a red as a stop sign and he ran back into the bathroom, slamming the door shut.

"Sorry! I'm so sorry! I just... the shorts... a hole... Sorry!"

Suppressing a laugh, I rolled my eyes, shivering, then pulled on some shorts and a muscle shirt -faster than I ever had before, mind you- and grabbed a second pair of shorts from my bag. "It's.. okay. Here, new shorts." The bathroom door just barely cracked open and his hand slid out, grabbing for them. I couldn't help buy snicker as I placed them in his hand, which he was quickly retracted.

After that, I just turned around, went to the bed, and allowed myself to fall forward, landing on my stomach as I stretched out, much like a cat. I felt -hell, I heard-, my elbows, knees, spine and hips pop as I did this, and sighed relieved as I relaxed, tension just drifting out of my body.

The bathroom door once again opened, much slower than it did before, and I could hear him walking over. Not long after, though I can tell he hesitated, the side of the bed sunk a little, meaning Troy decided to take a seat next to me. "So you... really are..."

I smiled, humming out my answer, "Yes sir." I could tell he didn't want to overstep any boundaries.

"And you.."

I nodded, "Yes once again." Getting braver, there. It probably helped that I knew what he was asking though, so he didn't have to actually finish any of his -possibly- horribly embarrassing questions.

"Have you.. ever... you know?"

That one, I answered with a shrug, rolling onto my back as I stared up at the ceiling,"Not with anyone else. I'm a 'special case' Troy, and so far, the only kind of guy my... interests have wanted, have been ones with a normal set of genitals. Though, given the chance, I wouldn't mind it. After all, if it feels good, who flipping cares what you have."

I could see that he nodded, and from how his voice sounded, he was smiling as well, "That's actually pretty cool." Okay, what?

Not believing what I'd heard, I pushed up, propping myself up with my elbows, and gave him an odd, curious look. Seriously? When I actually saw his smile, I couldn't help but grin and thrust my fist into the air before rolling back up into a sitting position, "You are damn right it is, haha!" I slung an arm around his shoulder, narrowing my eyes, "Besides, like they say, it's not what you have, it's what you do with it, and I can do way more than most guys our age."

Rolling his eyes in a playful manner, he chuckled, placing a hand on my head, "Yeah, yeah, I bet you could." As he ruffled my hair, I stuck my tongue out at him, "Thanks again... for today I mean. I really owe you one.."

My smile softened and I gave him a side hug, "No need to thank me. I do this because I care about you and just want you to be happy." It's what I wanted for all of my friends. They all deserved to be happy. After all, someone deserves one of those fairy tale happy endings, right? "Now, I don't know about you, but I'm cold and tired, so I think it's about time you head off so we can each get some sleep."

Hesitantly, he nodded, though didn't stand up to leave right away. "Or well, if you just don't care... you can stay here for the night. I mean, my bed isn't that big, but it'll fit both of us comfortably. And we won't be stuck to each other all night."

"That's..." Pause. "A pretty good idea... The last thing I need is to be caught wandering around in the middle of the night." The fact that I didn't even consider that was point enough on how tired I was. Geez.

"Alrighty!" Wait a second. "Okay, so, I only have one blanket... so, that means, as the guest, you can have it." I nodded, smiling. It was only polite. Besides, the extra heat from having a second person in the room would warm me up throughout the night.

"But... I thought you were cold." I shrugged, smiling all the same.

"Yeah, I am, but with you here, I'll warm up during the night, so, no problem." He didn't respond to that, which was perfectly fine by me. I stood up, stretching up as much as I could to get out any more pops or cracks that would kill me in the morning, then, made my way across the bed, to the side against the wall, as it was the only part I could sleep on.

Firstly though, I pushed the blanket off to the other side, for Troy, before turning to face the wall, curling up on my side to get as comfortable as possible. Fuuuuuck, did it feel good to lay down. I just about had to suppress a freaking moan because of just how good I felt.

I waited, staring at the wall in front of me, until I felt Troy lay down as well, and pull the blanket up, before I reached up with my right arm and flicked the light switch. In an instant, the room was pitch black, and the only sounds to be heard were our breathing, and the crickets outside.

My eyes slowly began to drift close, sleep starting to take me, but something was off... My comfortable position was comfortable anymore. As silently and with the smallest amount of movement possible, I rolled over onto my other side, almost immediately feeling the same comfort I had moments before. A small yawn managed to escape me before my eyes shut completely, and I was almost to the land of dreams.

Right before I was out though, I felt something... something falling around me, like a cloud; soft, warm, engulfing me. I smiled, cuddling into whatever it was, and that was the last thing I remember happening before morning.

Speaking of morning, and don't tell Troy I know this happened -I'd probably never live it down-, but I woke up, hours later, before sunrise, and was, well... He was on his side, facing me, and I was facing him and we were kind of... hugging. My arms were around his waist and his around my shoulders.

Oooh, and it made me remember why I never sleep next to anyone.

Another thing was, and it really made me smile, that the blanket was over me as well, which is what I had felt before originally falling asleep. Letting out a content sigh, I shrugged, basically saying 'fuck you world, I'm comfy', and closed my eyes once more.

"Thank you..." It came out as a whisper, barely audible, and it wasn't until much, much later, that I learned he had smiled after that, having had woken up just a moment before I had.

Heh, sneaky bastard.

**End**


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